Binance Eyes $1 Billion Investment Fund

Crypto upstarts aren’t simply aiming to disrupt the status quo, but they’re surpassing traditional venture capital investors as well. This is partially seen after Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, announced its plans to invest $1 billion for blockchain and crypto startups.

The “Community Influence” as it is called will be represented in Binance’s BNB coin and will target budding startups and funds, said Ella Zhang, head of Binace Labs division.

Zhang explained that Binance’s approach is highly adaptable and aimed towards helping create new funds. The company is planning to work with fund managers that have managed around $100 million in assets rather than those who have $100 million pots.

“We like small funds managed by experienced investors,” Zhang said on twitter.

Corr: we’d like to partner w/ fund managers who have managed >$100m AUM accumulatively, not that we only invest in crypto funds w/ >$100m AUM. Instead, we like small funds managed by experienced investors. Thanks @TechCrunch. We’ll do an EN AMA this Thur! https://t.co/HJxx0CtLbc

Binance is also set to launch a ‘Binance Ecosystem Fund’ together with 20 partners. Further details on these initiatives would be released soon according to a Binance spokesperson.

Binance is ranked as the worlds most active cryptocurrency exchange, based on data from Coinmarketcap.com. Binance has traded more than $5 billion crypto in the l ast 24 hours as of June 1, 2018. The company is based in Hong Kong but is currently relocating to Malta after it was forced out of Japan following a crackdown on crypto exchanges in the country.

This isn’t Binance’s first foray at investment. The company already made deals through its Labs division, which Zhang calls a “social impact fund”. Its Labs division led a $30 million investment in MobileCoin, a startup that is advised by messageing app Signal and Open Whisper Systems founder Moxie Marlinspike. The division is also establishing an incubator meant to provide ideas and new projects with financial support and mentorship.